The Bathhouse
by The Avid Musician
Summary: Would things have gone differently if Chihiro had been older? Would she have made the same impression? How would it have gone with Haku? Let's find out with an older and wiser Chihiro. DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: not mine._

**Chapter One**_  
_

18-year old Chihiro sat in the back seat of her parents' car as they drove to their new home. She read once again the good bye note that had accompanied her first ever bouquet of flowers.

"Chihiro. Chihiro! We're almost there!" her dad said softly from the driver's seat.

She just lowered her flowers to look briefly at the window. She soon returned her gaze to the ceiling of the car.

"This really is in the middle of nowhere. I'm going to have to go to the next town to shop," her mom commented in astonishment.

"We'll just have to learn to like it," her dad said resolutely, if somewhat insistently.

"Look, Chihiro! There's your new school. Look's great, doesn't it?" her father commented, peering over the steering wheel at the upper secondary school that would house her final year of schooling before university.

"It doesn't look so bad," her mom said, trying to comfort her.

Chihiro looked out the window for a few seconds and grimaced before laying down on the back seat.

"It's gonna stink," Chihiro commented miserably. "I liked my old school."

Just then, Chihiro noticed that her flowers were wilting. She bolted upright and exclaimed, "Mom! My flowers are dying!"

"I told you not to smother them like that," her mom said dismissively. "We'll put them in water when we get to our new home."

"I finally get a bouquet and it's a good bye present," she said sadly. "That's depressing."

"Daddy bought you a rose for your birthday. Don't you remember?" her mom said.

"Yes. One rose isn't a bouquet," Chihiro said, still depressed.

"Hold onto your card. I'm opening a window," her mom said, handing her card back to her. "And quit whinning. It's _fun_ to move to a new place. It's an _adventure_," she said, trying to be enthusiastic. It did not convince the 18 year old.

Chihiro's dad took a turn off. However, the road soon changed from smooth concrete to a dirt road with two tire tracks and a strip of grass running between. He slowed down and looked around, hoping they were n the right place. "Wait, did I take the wrong turn?" he said speculatively. "This can't be right!"

"Look! There's our house!" her mom said, peering out the window to a blue roofed house up a large hill.

"Huh?" her dad asked, looking as well.

"It's that blue one on the end," her mom said, still enthusiastic.

"Oh, you're right. I must have missed the turn off. This road should get us there," he said, peering forward now.

Once more, Chihiro looked out the window, though this time something else caught her attention. There were tiny, stone houses built all over off the side of the road. Most were not more than five inches high.

"Honey, don't take a short cut. You always get us lost," her mom said, exasperated.

Chihiro looked more closely.

"Trust me. It's gonna work," her dad said. He was oh so sure of himself.

"What are those little houses?" Chihiro asked, leaning forward in her seat.

"They're shrines. Some people think little spirits live there," her mom said knowledgeably.

"Dad, I think we're lost," Chihiro said, looking forward at the trees on either side of the road. They were driving through a forest now.

"We're fine. I've got four wheel drive!" he said, quite sure of himself.

Just then, the car hit something and jolted. Chihiro cried out as she almost lost her balance.

"Sit down, please, Sweetie," her mom said as the car began to accelerate, whipping through the trees.

The road changed once again to an old, stone road. The car very nearly vibrated as the tires ran over the stone, and then into the crack between the stones, and repeated. Chihiro lost her balance on this part. She was thrown back into the seat, where she clutched her bouquet and looked straight forward, afraid they would crash.

As they continued to drive, Chihiro spotted a stone statue out the window, set a little ways back into the forest. She looked out the back window to continue studying it before it went out of view.

The car went faster and faster as they began to go down a hill. They whipped past a few low hanging branches with her dad looking seriously at the road. Her mom was frightened as well, now. "Honey, honey! Slow down! You're gonna kill us!" she insisted. If she was catholic, she would be crossing herself.

Chihiro looked nervously forward. Soon the trees parted. Ahead, there was a stone archway through a wall and a statue directly in front of the opening. If they did not start braking now, they would hit it.

"What's that?" her dad exclaimed, pressing the gas pedal. They came to a stop right in front of the statue.

Her dad stuck his head out the window to look at the arch. The two women kept their heads in the car but peered forward with equal curiosity. They looked up and saw a row of windows, followed by two layers of what seemed to be an ancient roof.

Her dad got out of the car, still looking up at the structure. "What's this old building?" her mom asked.

"It looks like an entrance," he said, walking over to it.

"Honey, get back in the car! We're going to be late!" her mom said, only now sticking her head out the window.

Chihiro carefully got out of the car, but laid her bouquet down on the seat before following.

"Chihiro!" her mom said in an..angry? tone of voice. "Oh, for heaven's sake!"

"This building's not old. It's fake," her dad said as Chihiro walked over and laid a hand on his arm. "These stones are just made of plaster."

Her dad continued to look through the arch, while Chihiro noticed that the wind blew through the arch, almost as though it was beckoning them to enter. "The wind's pulling us in," she commented.

"What is it?" her mom said, finally out of the car. She, too, peered through the arch.

"Come on. Let's go in. I wanna see what's on the other side," her dad said.

_Curiosity killed the cat, and I have a bad feeling about this place. _"I'm not going," Chihiro said resolutely. "That place scares me."

"Don't be such a scaredy cat, Chihiro," her dad said, looking down at her small 5' frame. "Let's just take a look," he said.

"The movers'll get to our house before we do," her mom said.

"It's alright. They've got the keys. They can start without us," her dad said, trying to convince her.

"Alright, just a quick look," her mother said, acquiescing.

"Forget it. I'm not going," Chihiro said insistently, racing back to the car.

Her parents just looked back at her. "Come on, you guys! Let's get out of here!"

"Come on, honey. It'll be fun," her dad insisted.

"I am not going," Chihiro insisted. However, the statue once again caught her eye. It was made of old stone and covered in green moss. The face carved into it was thoroughly disconcerting.

Her parents walked into the archway. However, her mom paused for a little bit to look at Chihiro and say, "Chihiro, just wait in the car, then." And she walked.

Despite her misgivings about the tunnel, the teenager had even more fear of the statue. So she ran after them.

Her dad waited for a little bit for them to catch up. When they fell in step beside him, he said, "Everybody watch your step."

Chihiro would dearly have loved to hold on to something now, but she took a deep breath and resolutely walked forward through the dark hallway.

Finally, the hallway opened into a deserted room. Neat rows of pillars ran all the way throughout the room, and high up on each pillar was a set of eight lights all the way around it. There were a few benches scattered through the room, and dead leaves filled the corners. The walls were old and cracked, just like the wall had been. High up on one of the walls was a depression that allowed light to shine into the room from a small, round, stained glass window. On the other side of the large room, there was another archway. Daylight shone through this one, promising no more creepy tunnels.

"What is this place?" Chihiro asked.

Neither of her parents answered. However, her mom cupped her hand around her ear and said, "Do you hear that?"

Chihiro listened harder and heard the faint sound of a train running along a set of tracks.

"We must be near a train station," Chihiro observed.

"Come on. Let's go check it out," her dad said, walking forward into the room. Her mom followed her dad, so Chihiro followed her.

Outside, there were rolling hills of grass with random boulders strewn sparsely about. All of the stones were carved similarly to the ones she had seen early. Up ahead, there were two paths, each leading to old buildings made of wood.

"What are those buildings?" Chihiro asked.

"I knew it! It's an abandoned theme park. See? They built them everywhere in the early 90s. Then the economy went bad, and they all went bankrupt. This must be one of them," her dad said. Once again, he was oh so sure of himself. He began to walk down the little path.

"Where are you going?" Chihiro demanded. "You said just a quick look! Can we go back now?" She stayed in place while her parents followed the path.

Suddenly, the wind gusted again, from within the building. It was pushing her along the same path, almost as though she was supposed to go that way. _It was almost moaning...It must have been the wind. _Obligingly, Chihiro ran after her parents, who were quickly mounting one of the hills.

"Oh, what a beautiful place! We should have brought our lunch! Then, we could've had a picnic!" her mom said happily.

At the top of the hill, there was a dry riverbed made of large stones. On the other side was a set of stone steps leading up to somewhere.

"Look. They were planning to put a river here," her dad said. Chihiro wasn't convinced. He began to sniff the air and said, "Do you smell that?" He sounded eager. _Probably food._

"Something smells delicious," he said. _Yep. Food._

"Yeah, and I'm starving," her mom agreed.

"Maybe this theme park's still in business," her dad suggested. _Let's see. No signs, no people, no parking lot. Nope. Abandoned._

"Let's go," he said. _I think not._

"Chihiro, hurry it up," her mom said. Chihiro hurriedly hopped from stone to stone across the riverbed. As she looked down to keep her footing, she noticed that there was a fair amount of water between the stones. _Not good._

She raced up the steps to the cluster of buildings-town?- ahead. Her parents were already walking amongst the buildings. At the top of the steps, there was another statue, this one of a frog.

Chihiro followed her parents along the main path through the buildings. At the top of another set of steps, her dad had stopped again to smell his way to the food. "Over there," he said, leading them in a new direction. Chihiro and her mom followed quickly.

They walked into the middle of a new street, where her dad continued to smell his way around, once more directing them toward the undoubtedly delectable source of the olfactory stimulus.

Only then did Chihiro notice that all of the buildings along this street seemed to be eateries of some type. "How strange. They're all restaurants," her mom commented.

"Where are the people?" Chihiro pointed out.

"There it is!" her dad said, running over to the food. "Hey! I found it!" he yelled, waving them over to the food.

Chihiro and her mom walked over rather than running. Her dad peeked out from the restaurant and said, "Hey, you gotta see this!"

"Ah! Look at this!" her mom said upon seeing the huge platters of stacked food just waiting to be eaten. But there was no one around.

"Hello in there!" her dad called, "Does anybody work here?"

"Come in, Chihiro. It looks delicious," her mom prodded.

"No way," she said, shaking her head and backing away from it.

"Anybody?" her dad continued to call. There was no answer.

"Don't worry, honey. We can pay the bill when they get back," her mom said, picking up what looked to be a roasted bird.

"Hey! That looks great!" her dad said enthusiastically, walking over to grab some food.

Both of them began to dig into the food, their behaviour astoundingly similar to pigs. Chihiro's bad feeling only got worse at this.

"I wonder what this is called," her mom said in between mouthfuls. "Chihiro, you have to taste this!"

"No. We need to go now," Chihiro insisted.

"Don't worry. You've got daddy here. He's got credit cards and cash," her dad insisted, picking up an astoundingly large amount of food onto two plates.

"Chihiro, you have to try this. It's so tender," her mom insisted.

"No," Chihiro said forcefully.

Her parents spared no more breath to talk to her. They merely ate, and ate, and ate.

"Come one. We need to go now!" Chihiro tried one more time. They wouldn't listen.

Chihiro walked back out to the street and looked around. She noticed that at the end of the street, there was yet another stone staircase. Her curiosity was sparked at this, so she climbed it to look around.

Looking to her right, Chihiro saw a large, long bridge leading to a huge bathhouse with a smoking smokestack. "That's weird," Chihiro commented under her breath. She began to walk toward the bathhouse. Soon, she was on the bridge.

She looked a little more at the bathhouse with its red walls, and large sets of windows, and roof many stories in the air. She walked over to the edge of the bridge. There was a red, wooden railing about three feet high on the bridge. Chihiro put one foot up on it and leaned against it. She looked over the edge at the large drop below.

Far, far below her, the train came out of a tunnel through the ground before disappearing again. She looked up at the bathhouse again and saw a boy about her age looking at her in shock. He wore blue pants and a white tunic.

The boy gasped and took a few steps toward her. He blinked a few times, as though he could hardly believe his eyes. "You shouldn't be here. Get out of here! Now!" the boy said angrily.

"What?" Chihiro questioned, stepping away from the railing.

"It's almost night. Leave before it gets dark!" he said forcefully and urgently. Even as he spoke, the sky darkened, casting large shadows over the whole of the place. Lamps began to light at the bathhouse and elsewhere.

"They're lighting the lamps. Get out of here! You've gotta get across the river! Go! I'll distract them!" he said, putting an arm around her shoulders to push her towards the way she had come.

She began to run while the boy stayed behind. He stood in the middle of the bridge and blew white petals from his hand. _Very distracting indeed._

Chihiro did not stop. For some reason, he thought it urgent that she get away, so she would. She ran straight back to her parents, who appeared to still be gorging themselves. However, something didn't seem right with them. They were far too sloppy, and far too large. "Mom! Dad! Come on! We need to leave now!" she yelled.

Her dad looked up. He was a pig! What? How did that happen?

Her mom looked up soon after, and she suffered from the same malady. What was she to do now? Her parents were pigs, for heaven's sake!

Chihiro did the only thing she could: she ran.

All around on the streets, there were shadowy figures peering at her, wondering what a human was doing there. She didn't care. She just ran back to the entrance.

Finally, she reached the river, but she ran straight into water. Literally the second she ran into it, it was hip deep. Alarmed, Chihiro hurriedly climbed back out and peered across the water.

On the other side of what appeared to be a lake now, there were still the same buildings. However, they were all lit up with lights and open for business. At the shore of the lake, a large steam boat was all lit up and coming over to her side of the lake.

"I'm dreaming!" Chihiro exclaimed, putting her hands over her eyes. "I need to wake up now!" She fell to her knees, hoping that this was all but a dream and that she would wake up to a nice, normal life.

She peeked up at the boat to see the ramp being lowered. It was more than half way across the lake and almost ready to dock on the stairs near where she knelt.

She hid her face again and whispered, "Go away. It's just a dream! Disappear."

She looked down at her hands, and was quite alarmed to see that she was, in fact, disappearing! She looked quickly down at the rest of her and saw the same phenomenon occurring. She could see right through herself. "I'm transparent!" she exclaimed, rubbing her hands together.

The next thing she knew, the boat had docked. What appeared to be floating faces made of paper began to disembark. As they- stepped?- onto the steps, a long, red cloak appeared on each of them. They were spirits. Spirits of other sorts began to get off as well. That just made Chihiro panic.

She ran away from the boat to the back of one of the buildings. There, she huddled into herself, hoping desperately that this was nothing but a dream.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Minutes later, Chihiro felt a touch on either shoulder. She looked up. It was the boy from the bridge!

"Don't be afraid," he said, "I just wanna help you."

"No!" she exclaimed, trying to get away from him.

"Open your mouth and eat this," he said, holding up a small, red, round _thing_, for lack of a better word.

"No," she insisted.

"You have to eat some food from this world, or else you'll disappear," he insisted, bringing the thing closer to her mouth.

"No!" Chihiro insisted more strongly, trying to shove him away. Her hands went right through him.

"Don't worry. It won't turn you into a pig," he said, popping the thing into her mouth.

"Chew it and swallow," he said kindly.

Chihiro did so, grimacing at the taste.

"There you go. You're all better. See for yourself," he said, holding up his hand as proof.

Chihiro hesitantly held her hand up and touched his, afraid that she was still incorporeal. When she saw that she once again had substance, she said, "I believe you."

She looked up to see that he was smiling back down at her. He took one of her hands in both of his before standing quickly. However, Chihiro gripped his hand a bit tighter and asked, "Where are my parents? Are they really pigs?"

"You can't see your parents now, but you will later," he assured her. He looked up at the sky before hurriedly crouching down over her, hiding her from sight.

"Don't move," he said urgently.

Both of them looked up at the sky, one determined the other curious. When Chihiro's curiosity was satisfied, she wished that it hadn't been. A large, black bird was flying overhead. It appeared to be searching for something, or someone. She could not help but feel that it was her it was searching for.

Those suspicions were proved true when the bird left. The boy scooted away, retaining his hold on her wrist. "That bird's looking for you," he said, "You've gotta get outta here."

He tried to pull her up. However, Chihiro's legs seemed to be completely frozen in their kneeling position. She could not move them. "I can't move my legs!" she exclaimed in fright.

"Calm down and take a deep breath," he said urgently. She did exactly as he said. He held a hand directly over her legs and said, "In the name of the wind and water within me, unbind her." And it was so.

He pulled her up, this time successfully. Not even a second later, he pulled her by her hand at an amazing speed through the buildings., going through alleys and storage rooms of buildings.

Soon they slowed down and walked slowly and carefully through a garden. They went through a gate and looked ahead. The bridge was in front of them.

"You have to hold your breath while we cross the bridge," he said, leading her forward by her hand. "Even the tiniest breath will break the spell, and then everyone will see you."

As they approached the bridge, he said quietly, "Stay calm."

Up ahead, there appeared to be two brown-ish frogmen acting as greeters for the many and varied spirits that were coming to the bathhouse. They were saying quite often, "Welcome!"

"I'm back from my mission," the boy said to one of them.

In response, the frogman said, "Welcome back, Master Haku."

"Take a deep breath, and hold it," he whispered as they walked onto the bridge.

Chihiro held her breath and kept a hand over her nose and mouth to stop herself from breathing accidentally. Then, she looked around at all of the spirits coming to the bathhouse.

Some appeared to be gigantic chicks. Another was covered in a large, orange sheet. As they continued on their way, the passed one walked _away_ from the bathhouse. It- he?- was black and had a white face mask that apparently served as its face. It watched Haku carefully, almost as though it could see her.

On the other end of the bridge, there was a large crowd of women also welcoming the guests.

"Hang on. Almost there," he whispered.

However, as they neared the end of the bridge, a frog in a robe bounced up to their eyelevel and said eagerly, "Master Haku! Where've you been?" That surprised Chihiro enough that she gasped. It broke the spell. They could see her.

"What? A human!" the frog exclaimed, jumping up again.

Haku formed some type of black bubble around the frog and said quickly, "Let's go!" They flew close to the ground to the bathhouse wall. There's Haku pushed her through a small passage before following and replacing the small, wooden panel that was the door.

The two of them ran into a garden with Haku in the lead. He stopped behind a bush and crouched down with her to hide from the people that were searching for both of them, though for different reasons.

They could hear the employees within the bathhouse yelling, "Haku! Master Haku!"

"They know you're here," he said quietly. He was quite solemn.

"I'm sorry. I took a breath," Chihiro said sadly.

"No, Chihiro. You did very well," he said, bending over her slightly more to look her in the eye. "Listen carefully to what I tell you to do. You can't stay here. They'll find you, and you'll never get to rescue your parents. I'll create a diversion while you escape."

"You mean you'll walk in and talk to them," she said bluntly.

He smiled, but it faded quickly. He touched her forehead with his hand. An image of the places he was saying appeared in her mind as he said, "When things quiet down, go out through the back gate. Go all the way down the stairs until you reach the boiler room, where they stoke the fires. There, you'll find Kamaji, the boiler man."

"Kamaji," Chihiro repeated to memorize the name.

Haku nodded and said, "Tell him you want to work here. Even if he refuses, you must insist. If you don't get a job, Yubaba will turn you into an animal."

"Yubaba?" Chihiro asked.

"She's the witch who rules the bathhouse," he explained. "Kamaji will try to turn you away or trick you into leaving, but just keep asking for work. It'll be hard work, but you'll be able to stay here. Then, even Yubaba can't harm you."

Chihiro put on a brave face and nodded.

"I have to go, Chihiro. And don't forget: I'm your friend," he said, beginning to stand up.

"Wait! How did you know my name?" she asked, stopping him from standing.

"I have known you since you were very small," he said vaguely. He stood and said, "Good luck, and whatever you do, don't make a sound." Then, he walked over to the door and said, "Calm down! I'm coming."

"Master Haku, Yubaba wants to see you," a frogman inside said as he opened the door for Haku.

"I know. It's about my mission, right?" he said, stepping out of his sandals.

One of the frogmen grabbed his sandals and closed the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Well, things had calmed down in all of the minute Haku had been gone. Chihiro calmed herself before crawling over to the back door, hoping that no one would see her. It did not take her long to sneak to the backdoor and get out.

However, when she saw the stairs, Chihiro was very afraid. There were large gaps between the stairs where she could easily fall to her death. Despite this, she started on her way down the rickety, unsafe, wooden stairs.

It took a long time, but she made it without any mishaps. She was _not_ going to do that again.

She carefully opened the boiler room door and went inside.

Inside the boiler room, steam hissed from every which way. She could see the orange light of a fire with a large shadow just through a stone doorway. Hesitantly, Chihiro walked forward into the room beyond.

A man with many arms sat on top of a large pedestal. All of his arms were busy with separate tasks. One the floor between her and him, whom she assumed to be Kamaji, little black creatures struggled with lumps of coal. They carried the coal atop their tiny backs to an opening in the boiler that led straight to the flames. One by one, they went out onto a ledge and threw their coal into the boiler before returning for more.

Chihiro took a deep breath to calm herself, but as she did, the man knocked a wooden hammer against the side of his pedestal. The little black creatures hurried their coal back to where they had come, leaving the floor clear.

It was now or never, so Chihiro stepped forward into the room and said, "Excuse me." The man did not hear her, so she tried again, louder this time. "Excuse me, are you Kamaji?"

"Heh?" the man said, looking over at her. He leaned over the edge of his stone block to peer at her through his black glasses and his moustache.

"Would you please give me a job," Chihiro said respectfully.

Just then, four strips of wood came through a hole in the ceiling. They were suspended from some type of springy rope. He looked over at them and said angrily, "Four bath tokens at once!" He grabbed his wooden hammer again and pounded it against a metal wheel built into his stone block. "Come on! Get back to work, you little runts!" he yelled behind him.

"Yeah. I'm Kamaji, slave to the boiler that heats the baths," he said bitterly, turning his attention for a second back to her. All of his arms began to work on their jobs while he said that. "Move it, ya stupid soot balls!" he yelled back, probably at the little, black workers. Apparently, they were made of soot.

"Please, I need a job!" Chihiro insisted, talking more loudly this time.

"I don't need any help. This place is full of soot. I just cast a little spell on them and I've got all the workers I need," he said, looking back at her again.

She had forgotten that she was standing on the path the little soot workers used to carry the coal. She was reminded of that fact when some of them squeaked because her feet were in the way. "Oh, sorry," Chihiro said, picking her feet up one at a time. She quickly went over to the edge, sat, and pulled her feet up.

Seconds later, one of Kamaji's arms reached back toward her and opened one of the drawers that lined the entire wall. He took something from it and went to a much higher drawer, taking something from there as well.

Chihiro watched as the arm went back over to its owner and went into whatever he was mixing.

She decided to try once more. She raised her voice again and said, "Please. I need a job here. I _have_ to work her."

"Don't start that again!" he said angrily.

At his tone of voice, the soot balls began to make what seemed to be the only sound they _could_ make. They were angry, too.

A small, wooden sliding door opened along the wall and a woman's voice called from behind her, "Chow time!"

A woman in a salmon coloured work uniform crawled through holding a basket. She thankfully did not look at Chihiro, otherwise she would have been discovered immediately.

"Where's your other bowl? The one from yesterday?" she asked, holding her hand up with his food. He took it from her hand and placed an empty bowl in its place. "I keep telling you to leave it out, Kamaji."

She turned to the little soot balls and began to throw little coloured pellets of food to them from the basket. She turned to scatter them around and noticed Chihiro. "A human! You're in trouble! You're the one everyone's looking for!"

"She's my granddaughter," Kamaji intervened suddenly.

Chihiro looked gratefully up at him.

"Granddaughter?" the woman asked sceptically.

"She said she wants to work her, but I've got all the help I need. Will you take her to see Yubaba? She's a tough girl. I think she can handle it," Kamaji said, continuing his intercession on her behalf.

"No way. I'm not gonna risk my life!" the woman said vehemently.

Kamaji held out a fried lizard and said, "What if I give you this roasted newt? Hmm? It's a good one."

The woman looked at him sceptically for a few seconds before snatching it from his hand.

"If you want a job, you'll have to make a deal with Yubaba. She's the head honcho here," Kamaji said, talking to Chihiro now.

"Come on, Girl. You better follow me," the woman said, dumping out the contents of the basket on the floor.

Chihiro hurriedly took off her shoes and socks before kneeling and saying, "Thank you, Mr. Boiler Man."

"At least you have some manners," the woman commented.

"Thank you," Chihiro said, following her.

"Good luck," Kamaji said before the two women left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Chihiro picked herself up, holding her head in one hand. She had scarcely even stood when three large, green heads came bouncing and rolling toward her saying, "Hoi," as they did.

"Quiet down. You're making a racket," the same voice said from behind a desk. With that command, the heads stopped bouncing and turned to look at the desk. Chihiro turned as well. A squat, large-headed, old woman sat behind the desk, writing something. Her white hair was done up in a net bun. Many rings shone from her wrinkled hands. Her blue dress was very old-fashioned. Her nose was quite large.

"Excuse me. Could you please give me a job," Chihiro said, stepping closer to the woman.

The woman, most likely Yubaba, looked up and made a sideways motion with her hand. Instantly, Chihiro's lips were literally sealed together. She could not open her mouth at all, even to breathe.

"I don't want to hear such a stupid request. You're just a stinking, useless weakling," Yubaba said, chuckling. "And this is certainly no place for humans," she continued.

The old woman turned to fully look at the human and said, "It's a bathhouse for the spirits. It's where they come to replenish themselves. And you humans always make a mess of things, like your parents who gobbled up the food of the spirits like pigs. They got what they deserved, and you should be punished, too."

As she spoke, Yubaba pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a flame that puffed into existence from her finger. _Witch, indeed._ The witch took a long breath from the cigarette before taking it out of her mouth and saying, "You could be a piglet, or maybe you would prefer a lump of coal."

She took another breath from the cigarette. She began to chuckle and said, "Actually, I'm impressed you've made it this far. And you're brave enough to not even tremble. But I'm sure you didn't do it on your own. Let's thank whoever helped you. Just who was it, Dear? Why don't you tell me?"

Yubaba made the same hand motion as before, but in reverse. Just as suddenly as before, Chihiro's lips were free and unsealed. "i ned a job," Chihiro said, refusing to yell.

"Don't start that again!" Yubab said angrily, hitting her fist against the desk.

"Please, I just want to work!" she said more fervently.

"Don't say that!" Yubaba said angrily. As her anger grew, a wind swept the place into a state of uproar, quickly reducing the entire room to a mess. Yubaba flew over the desk right over to Chihiro, setting down right in front of the young woman. The witch said angrily, "Why in the world do you think I should give you a job? Anyone can see you're a proud, ignorant girl!...But your manners are surprisingly good. However, I've got all the lazy bums I need...Or maybe I'll give you the most difficult job I've got and work you until you breathe your very last breath." The last was a very real threat.

Suddenly, a large thump resounded through the room. Yubaba gasped just before another and yet another thump followed. These next bumps were powerful enough to displace books and small furniture. A second later, they heard a loud baby cry from an adjacent room. A second later, a huge baby's foot broke through a green wooden door on the other side of the room. The blow splintered the door, forcing pieces of the wood to go flying around the room.

"Oh dear! You woke up the baby!" Yubaba exclaimed, rushing over to the doorway where the foot had come through. "Mommy's here. Now be a good boy!" Yubaba said. She turned back and peeked through the red curtains that hung in front of the door frame. "Why are you still here? I told you to leave!"

"I need a job. Please!" Chihiro said fervently, making sure not to yell.

Quiet down! You're scaring the baby!" she insisted.

The same foot kicked through the doorway again. It hit Yubaba in the head, dislodging some splinters from her hair.

"Hi, Sweetie. Don't be angry," Yubaba said to the baby pacifyingly. In response, the baby began to quiet down. "Good boy."

"I'm not leaving until you give me a job," Chihiro insisted, stepping closer to Yubaba.

"Okay. Okay. Just be quiet!" Yubaba hissed.

"Here comes Mommy! I'm coming to get you," Yubaba said, rushing into the other room. Moments later, Chihiro heard a prolonged kissing sound most likely from Yubaba kissing the baby.

Chihiro waited in silence for several seconds before a paper floated up from the floor and flew to her. A pen followed closely. "That's your contract," Yubaba said, pulling the splinters and pieces of wood from her hair as she walked into the room. "Sign your name away," she continued as she magically began to clean up the room.

As Chihiro took the paper and pen, objects began to whip around the room, flying back to their correct location. "And I'll put you to work," Yubaba finished as Chihiro turned around to kneel by the heart and sign the paper on the smooth stone there.

"If I hear one little complain out of you, you'll be joining your parents in the pig pen," Yubaba warned her.

"I can't believe I took that oath! 'Give a job to anyone who asks' Ridiculous! I hate being so nice all the time!" Yubaba said, rattling on.

"Excuse me. I've finished," Chihiro said. The paper floated out of her hands to Yubaba the second she finished speaking.

"Oh! Your name's Chihiro. What a pretty name! And it's mine now. From now on your name is Sen. Got that?" Yubaba said, looking at her signature.

"Yes, Ma'am," Chihi- Sen said before Yubaba could snap at her.

"You called for me?" Haku's voice said seriously. Sen spun around to see Haku standing near the door facing Yubaba.

"This girl signed a contract. Set her up with a job," Yubaba told him.

"Right," he said to Yubaba before turning. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Chihir- Sen," Sen said, remembering the change in name.

"Okay, Sen. Follow me," he said, turning to the door and walking out. Sen followed.


	5. Chapter 5

_Thank you for all the reviews!_

_Now, the behaviour differences between this Chihiro and the one in the film become more apparent.  
_

**Chapter Five**

Sen followed Haku back to the elevators. Once inside, she tried to ask him what her job would be, but decided against it. After all, she would find out soon enough.

Not ten seconds later, Haku said without looking at her, "Address me as Master Haku from now on."

Sen merely nodded her head and said, "As you wish, Master Haku." She hadn't been surprised because (due to the way Yubaba spoke to him) he was important here.

Soon, they got out of the elevator and went over to a long flight of stairs. The entire way down, people stared and gawked at her. She tried to ignore them, but that was not an easy task as they were all being so obvious.

After walking a little bit longer with people gawking, Haku and Sen reached the foreman. There, Haku told him exactly what Yubaba had told him. The foreman replied, "I don't care if Yubaba gets angry with us."

The frogman behind him finished the statement by saying, "We're not taking humans."

"She's already under contract," Haku said. At that, there were gasps, wide eyes, whispers, and an astonished foreman crying, "What?"

"I shall work very hard," Chihiro said, bowing to him respectfully. _Please let me work. Please._

"We are not gonna take her in our department," a woman behind her said.

Another woman added, "She'll stink up the whole place." _Great. I smell bad, too._

"Three days of eating our food and her smell will go away," Haku said confidently. "And if she doesn't work hard, roast her, boil her, do whatever you want with her." _Oh, great. I'm going to work for and with cannibals. How lovely. _"Now get back to work. Where is Lin?" _At least she won't eat me._

"What? Don't you dump her on me!" Lin said from the side of the room.

"You said you wanted an assistant," Haku said.

"That's perfect! Give the girl to Lin!" The foreman said, smiling widely.

"Oh, great," Lin said, sounding less than happy.

"Sen, get going," Haku said, turning to her.

Sen walked quickly over to Lin and said, "Very well."

"Why are you picking on me? You owe me one, Haku," Lin said in a huff before turning and leading the way presumably to the sleeping quarters.

Lin led Sen through a twisting hallway to a room that had a glass-and-wood door that looked out on the sea. As soon as they were in the room, Lin turned quickly around and said happily, "I can't believe you pulled it off!"

"I can't believe it either!" Sen said enthusiastically. She had a feeling she could trust Lin and talk with her about things.

"I was really worried about you seeing Yubaba," Lin said, smiling.

"Believe me, I was more than worried when I saw her," Sen said, smiling fully now.

"If you need anything, ask me. Okay?" Lin said.

"Okay," Sen said as she nodded. Somehow, she didn't feel nearly as scared with Lin around. It was like being around a girl-friend, someone she could actually talk to.

"Alright, now this is our room," Lin said, walking over to a cabinet filled with various pieces of clothing and boxes. After a bit of digging, she pulled out a bit of blue fabric and handed it to Chihiro. "Here's your apron. You have to wash it yourself, and your pants," Lin said, handing the new girl a pair of salmon-pink pants that had been folded nicely. As she began to dig again, she said, "Hmmm...Where are they smaller shirts? Ah ha!" With that, she pulled out a shirt that looked small enough to possibly fit Sen.

"Thank you...What does Haku do here, anyway? He seemed pretty important," Sen said, walking over to sit and stare at the sea.

"He's Yubaba's henchman. Don't trust anything he says," Lin said with contempt in her voice. A few footsteps later, she plopped down next to Sen.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Early the next morning, Sen woke to a hand being placed on her shoulder. Instantly, she sat up and looked around, only to relax when she saw Haku. "Meet me at the bridge. I'll take you to your parents," he said quietly.

She nodded to him, showing her understanding. He smiled in return before turning and leaving. As soon as he was out of the room, she got up and pulled on her clothes. She carefully stepped out fo the room and closed the door before walking through the now quiet and dark bathhouse.

The only way she knew to get out was through the boiler room, so Sen travelled down the many levels to sneak past Kamaji. First, she had to find her shoes. They were gone.

Even as she peered around the room for them, the soot balls brought out her shoes from two of their hiding holes under the floor. They dragged them right up to her, allowing her to take them and put them on. Before she walked past them, she said quietly, "Thank you."

Sen hurried through the rest of the room to the door. As she was about to opened the door, she heard a squeaking noise behind her. She looked back to see the soot balls bouncing up almost like a good bye. She smiled at them before walking out the door and up the treacherous steps. Then, she hurried through the garden and out to the bridge.

However, a spirit was on the bridge already, almost looking like it was waiting for something. Regardless, she walked over the bridge, not looking back. This allowed her to see Haku walk up to her. "Follow me," he said briefly before turning and leading her through the gardens.

"We don't have much time," he said as they walked between the rows of tall, flowering bushes. "If you're found here, you'll be turned into a pig yourself. You must never come here without me."

Even as he spoke, they exited the gardens and walked down a hill toward a group of red-roofed animal farms. "Understand?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, following him still.

He led her to the entrance of the building. What Sen saw shocked her. Never before had she seen any real agriculture. Now, all she could see in this building was row upon row of pens packed with pigs. It was enough to make her vomit just thinking about the conditions they must live under with their faeces, their food, their sweat, and everything else all squished together like that. Suddenly, she was very thankful for her room up in the bathhouse where she had room to move around.

Sen only noticed that she had been staring, open mouthed, when Haku pushed her chin up with one of his fingers. Quickly, she turned to look at him. All he did was gesture toward the pens.

Hesitantly, Sen stepped forward toward the pen. Two of these pigs were her parents. What an awful thought.

She reached the rail of the pen and hesitantly leaned against it. As she did, her hands began to shake, followed by the rest of her. "They won't recognize me, will they?" she asked quietly.

"No. They're sleeping off all they ate," Haku said, walking to her side.

"At this rate, they'll be killed within a week," Sen said sadly.

"Less, if Yubaba has her way," Haku remarked gravely.

Sen gasped before turning and walking quickly out of the building. As soon as she was outside, she sat down facing away from the building, away from the pens, away from the pigs, away from her parents.

She did not look up, though she heard Haku walking over to her. "Will you remember which ones they are?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, though her voice was pitiful.

He knelt by her side, placing a hand on her back, and said, "I won't make you come back here."

Sen lowered her head in a sort of bow and said quietly, "Thank you."

Haku withdrew his hand, but he took something out, laying it on the ground in front of her. Then, he said, "Here are your clothes. Hide them."

Sen quickly picked them up and rifled through them. "I barely remember these...How can I forget so quickly?"

"It's part of the spell Yubaba has on everyone working here. She makes you forget. Speaking of which, do you remember your name?" he asked.

"Sen," she said as though it was obvious.

"No. It's Chihiro. You can't forget that, or you'll never be able to leave," Haku said, impressing her with that point most severely.

"Well, what's yours then?" Chihiro asked.

"I've tried everything to remember, but I still don't know it," he said, looking away.

"But you know mine?" she asked, pointing out the oddity.

Haku smiled and said, "I don't even know why. By the way, eat this." The second part he said while opening a package to offer a rice cake to her.

"Thank you," Chihiro said, smiling up at him.

As she began to bite into it, he said, "I put a spell on it so you'll be able to get back your strength."

At this, Chihiro looked up straight into his eyes and said, this time sincerely, "Thank you, Haku. You have no idea what your kindness means to me."

Haku smiled back at her and said, "I'm surprised you're not crying. Most new arrivals have cried by now."

"Knowing my name again helped a great deal," she said before standing.

Without a word, Haku stood and began to lead her back through the garden to the bridge. Once they were there, Haku said, "I have to go now, but I'll be back soon to help you."

"Thank you," Chihiro said before turning and running over the bridge. Once she was across, she turned back to glance one more time at Haku. He wasn't there. However, a white streak in the sky caught her eye. She looked up and saw a serpentine form snaking through the form. A dragon. Well, that was new.

Sen, that is Chihiro, ran back to the boiler room and dropped off her shoes and clothes. Then, she hurried through the bathhouse to her room. She tiptoed over the other 'girls' to her own blankets and snuggled into them again. She fell asleep almost instantly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

It seemed like seconds later, Sen was being shaken awake by Lin. The second her eyes were open, Lin was gone, moving on to clean up the room and fold up the blankets. Sen quickly got up and dressed before folding her own blanket and handing it to Lin to pack into the cupboard. After that, they followed the crowd to work.

They passed a board at which Sen saw each person stopping. Every person took a token from the board. As soon as Lin had moved on from the board, Sen quickly took one of them and kept walking.

The first task of the day was to wash the floors. Lin was surprised to see that Sen had no trouble with this task. When asked about it, Sen just said, "I had to wash the floors had home, too. Why do you ask?"

"You just seemed like the type that hadn't done much work," Lin said with a shrug.

Sen smiled and said, "I used to do a lot of chores at home."

Their conversation was interrupted by the foreman coming up to them and saying, "Lin and Sen, you get the big tub today."

"What? Hey, that's frog work!" Lin protested

"Orders from the top, so quite your complaining," the foreman said before hurrying away.

"Lin, how big is the big tub?" Sen asked.

"About fifteen feet across," Lin said, obviously still angry.

"Lovely," Sen said sarcastically.

"Dump that water out. Then, we'll get to work on it," Lin said, walking away.

Sen nodded and easily picked up the bucket. She quickly opened the door and dumped the water out into the garden. However, as she did so she saw the very same spirit from the bridge, the one with a mask for a face. "Excuse me, Sir. The front door is around that way," she said, pointing in the right direction.

The spirit remained silent.

"I can't let you in here. You'll have to go in through the front way," she said before turning and closing the door. She hurried after Lin so that they could collect supplies.

Once Lin and Sen had their brooms, rags, and other supplies, they walked through a maze of dividers and tubs which made Sen wonder how she had ever missed seeing such a large room.

As they kept walking, one of the girls called after them, "Heard you got the big tub, Lin!"

"Leave me alone," Lin said morbidly.

Finally, they came to the big tub, which turned out to be, as the name implied, a very large tub indeed. It was covered in dead grass and muck of all types. This would not be a pleasant task.

"Those jerks. They haven't cleaned this tub in months," Lin said, surveying the more applicable 'disaster area'.

They started by clearing away all of the dead grass, which in and of itself took quite a long time, might I say. After that, they got to the task of scrubbing away all of the grime left on the tub itself. As they worked, Lin said, "We only use this tub for our really filthy guests. The sludge is so caked on it'll take days to scrub off."

"Lin, Sen, you've got some customers on the wait," a frogman called to them.

"Wait! Give us a minute! This is clearly harassment!" Lin said angrily. "We'll have to soak it off. Get an Herbal Soak Token from the foreman." As she spoke, she helped Sen get out of the tub. Sen stood on the edge of the tub and ran down the edge and out to the foreman.

Neither of them was aware that even as they worked, something was coming. Yubaba sensed it and, by looking out the window, spotted almost immediately a stink spirit coming their way.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Sen walked quickly up to the foreman and said, "I need an herbal soak token please."

"I can't waste a token on you," he said before quickly switching to the smiling host demeanour and handing out a couple tokens to other people.

"I have to have an herbal soak token. Please," Sen repeated more forcefully.

"Well, that's too bad," the foreman said sarcastically.

Almost as soon as he said that, he once again switched his attention to the guests flowing in and handing out tokens. As he looked away, Sen quickly grabbed a handful of tokens and began to walk away. Behind her, she could hear the foreman continue to greet guests, apparently oblivious to her theft. Of course, she disapproved of thievery, but this was different. She continued to justify that to herself in her mind as she returned to the big tub.

As soon as she returned, Lin climbed out of the tub and walked over to a cabinet in the wall that she hadn't noticed before. Sen quickly followed her over to the little cabinet, only to find that it was a door to a long chute with elastic ropes and clips hanging. Lin held out a hand, which Sen quickly filled with one of the tokens.

Lin looked at the token before attaching it to one of the ropes and commented, "Wow, Sen. You got a really good one."

She attached the token to the rope with the ease of long practice and murmured, "Clip this on and let go." She then closed the door and explained quickly, "It goes straight to Kamaji. Then, he sends us our water."

Even as she spoke, a long trough descended from the wall. It stopped at a good angle to fill the tub, leaving a rope hanging down to where a worker could easily hold on to or pull it.

"Pull on this to start to water flowing," Lin said, climbing up to grab a hold of the rope. "Give it a try," she said as Sen easily joined her in standing on the side of the tub. Sen quickly pulled on the rope, hardly even losing her balance in the tub.

"Are you sure you haven't worked before?" Lin asked, observing how easy it seemed for the so-called inexperienced worker.

"Quite sure," Sen said with a smile before looking at the water pouring into the tub. It was murky. "What is in this water?" she asked pensively.

"Dried worm salts. It's supposed to be good for you," Lin explained, though obviously she did not believe that dried worm salts were healthy either. "And with water this murky, you can't see all the sludge in the tub."

Lin walked down the side of the tub again and instructed, "Yank it again when the bath is full. The water will stop. I'll go get us some breakfast."

"Okay," Sen said, turning her gaze back to the rather disgusting looking water.

Soon, the bath was full. Sen quickly tugged on the rope again. Sure enough, the water stopped and the trough receded into the wall again.

She was completely unaware that her next customer was currently outside on the bridge, or that the bathhouse most certainly did not want this particular spirit's business.

Sen sat down and waited for either Lin or a customer. While she waited, she sat on the edge fo the tub and stared into the water.

She only had a minute of peace before she heard a great commotion all around. People were running and yelling, though it sounded slightly orderly.

"Sen," a voice said from outside her partition. Quickly, she hurried to the hallway. "Yubaba wants to see you," a foreman said to her before turning and leading her to Yubaba.

"Sen, don't mess this up. Take this guest to the big tub and take care of him," Yubaba instructed, waving her cane in Sen's face.

"But, the tub isn't clean," Sen tried to protest.

Yubaba, spoke over her, saying, "No buts or I'll turn you into coal. You hear me?"

"Very well," Sen said, resigned.

"Ah, it's here!" the foreman exclaimed in disgust._ This can't be good._

Two smaller frogmen ran from the curtain entrance, covering their noses as they went. Even as they hurried away, a black, slimy mud seeped through under the curtain. Slowly, the curtain was pushed aside as the mud oozed forward toward them.

A second later, they could smell it. It pervaded their olfactory senses in the most unpleasant of ways. However disgusted Sen was, she kept her hands at her side, knowing that it would offend this- this sludge spirit if she were to cover her nose. All of the staff ran a second later, trying desperately to escape the horrid smell to no avail. Only Sen and Yubaba remained as the mud oozed into the room.

Yubaba struggled to speak as a giant blob of mud shaped vaguely into a face and protruding tentacles slinked into the room. After some effort, she said, "Look! A valued customer! Welcome to our baths!"

The spirit held out a tentacle to them. They both stared at it blankly for a second before Yubaba realized something. "Oh! It's money! Sen, take the nice customer's money."

Sen very hesitantly held out her hands, just waiting for the mud to get on her. _Keep my job. Keep my job. Keep my job. Keep my job. Keep my job._

Her eyes went wide as a small pile of mud slopped down into her hands."This way, Sir." Despite her disgust, she turned and began to lead the mud blob, excuse me the customer, to the big tub.


	9. Chapter 9

_I'm sorry! It's been so long since I've updated! I've just had no idea as to what direction I would be taking this story._

**Chapter Nine**

Sen hurried off to the side of the tub, clearing the way for the customer to climb into the tub. The blob crept up the side of the tub before tipping over almost in a dive, crashing into the surface of the water. The bathwater quickly spilled out of the tub onto the floors, nearly taking Sen with them when they reached her. By the time the wave had dissipated, the water was all a dark, muddy brown.

Sen looked up at the customer, trying to ignore her disgust that her legs were now completely covered in mud. The mud blob poked its head up out of the water and looked around. She took that as the clue to get more water.

Slowly, Sen waded through the mud over to the compartment. It took her only seconds to clip the second of the tokens she had taken to the string and sending it to Kamaji.

Sen turned and waded through the mud over to the tub. As she did, the water trough came down from the wall again, descending to its position over the tub. Once she reached the tub, she scurried up the side and grasped the rope. Sen jerked it quickly, hoping that the water would help with the smell.

The water began to pour down onto the spirit, overflowing the tub and spilling out onto the floor, this time sweeping her with it. Before she could fall, a tentacle of mud covered entirely by water swept out of the spirit and picked her up. Her eyes widened in terror as the tentacle moved her toward the spirit. It came to a stop with her head partially in the stream of water falling over the spirit.

After mere seconds there, Sen's hand hit something. Instantly, she grasped it, recognizing it for a handle. "There's something stuck in his side!" she called out.

"Something stuck? Get the staff down there," Yubaba said with a speculative look on her face. By now, it was evident that she did not believe this to be a stink spirit.

"Sen!" Lin called from the hallway. It took her only seconds to run through the stream of water and up the side of the tub to Chihiro. "I won't let him hurt you," she said as she grabbed Sen around the waist and pulled.

Even as the two tried to pull whatever the item was loose, Yubaba dropped down from the balcony to float in the air above the water. "That's no stink spirit we have on our hands." She conjured a length of rope and tossed it to Sen, who quickly grabbed it and tied it to whatever it was that was stuck inside the...customer.

As they worked at securing the line, the staff filed in and took hold of the rope, which had unravelled enough that the staff could all help in pulling the item out.

"It's tied on!" Sen called to them.

Yubaba stood atop the room divider, pulled out her fans, and said, "Everyone ready on my command. And. Heave."

Every time Yubaba, and the rest of the staff who joined in, said 'heave', they pulled on the rope as a unit. In a matter of seconds, they were making progress. Soon enough, the item became visible. Sen, who was till at the front of the line, was able to see it. She did not stop pulling, but she asked in confusion, "A bicycle?" And a bicycle it was.

More items were entangled in the bicycle. The all began to come out in a heap of waste and mud, pushing the staff away in a veritable mudslide. Sen, who had stood on the tub's edge, was lucky enough to be at the side of this mudslide. She was not pushed away and to the ground as the rest were. This meant she was able to pull out the last little plug from the customer.

When that little plug was removed, a sort of hissing sound, rather like a sigh, was emitted from the water, which most of the staff presumed to be not a customer despite the animation with which it entered the bathhouse. The water had stopped flowing, and the mound of mud was no longer there. The water settled into the tub.

However, some of the water came up to encircled Sen in a sort of water ball. Thanks to this water, Sen did not hear Lin's cries, "Sen! Sen, where are you?"

Amidst the stillness of the glassy water and the steam, an aging, though very large, spirit mask came up out of the water. After a few moments in silence, it said, "Well done." It faded away into the steam as though it had never been there.

The water surrounding Sen receded, leaving her clutching what appeared to be a river stone. She looked back up to the tub, only to find the steam fading away, leaving only a tub filled to the brim with water.

In the seconds following, the staff made a discovery. Amidst the trash, mud, and water that now littered the floor, almost like a river, there was gold. Immediately, they all rushed forward, trying to claim what they could of the gold.

Yubaba, seeing this, spat out to them, "Back off! Our guest is still here, you idiots!"

Even as she spoke, the water from the tub began to form a sort of bubbling mountain which grew and grew until it burst upwards in a long stream of water.

The customer was leaving in what appeared to be his proper form: a dragon of water. As he left, he laughed, curling around the rafters before shooting out the main gate.

The remaining customers and staff members began to cheer, but this did not surprise Sen. It was the sudden euphoric embrace of Yubaba which surprised her. "Sen, you did great! We made so much money!"

Only then did she let go of the teen. "That spirit is rich and powerful. Everyone learned from Sen. Sake's on the house tonight, but first hand over all the gold you picked up."

That, of course, brought a whole round of protests. Sen did not care about the gold. She had helped someone in need and had been rewarded with a river stone, which she presumed to be valuable in some way.


End file.
